Packages for surgical needles and sutures are well known in the art. Conventional packages may consist of foldable cardboard or paper having a plurality of foldably connected panels for receiving sutures. Such packages typically have needle parks for mounting needles. The packages are designed to protect the needles and sutures during sterilization, shipping and handling. The packages are further designed to provide ease of removal of the needles and sutures. Conventional plastic packages are also available for surgical needles and sutures. The plastic packages typically have an oval shape or circular shape with a peripheral suture channel for containing one or more sutures. A needle park is typically positioned interior to the channel for mounting surgical needles. The plastic packages are believed to have several advantages over paper packages in that they are easy to load, tend to maintain the suture in a controlled position within the channel, and provide ease of dispensing. Suture packages having channels for containing sutures are disclosed in the following U.S. patents which are incorporated herein by reference: U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,902; U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,551; U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,902; U.S. Pat. No. 5,131,533; U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,210; U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,498.
Although the packages of the prior art are known to function appropriately in containing surgical sutures and needles, there is a constant need in this art for improved suture packages. In particular, there is a need for a suture package having a suture channel which can be readily utilized in automated suture winding apparatuses. There is a further need in this art for a suture package having a suture channel which has the capability of reducing the incidence of suture "lock-ups" when sutures are withdrawn from the package, and which will retain sutures in an "arranged wind" pattern.